Hall Effect elements that can sense a magnetic field are known. There is a variety of different types of Hall Effect elements, for example, a planar Hall element, a vertical Hall Effect element, and a circular vertical Hall (CVH) element.
As is known, some of the above-described Hall Effect elements tend to have an axis of maximum sensitivity parallel to a substrate that supports the magnetic field sensing element, and others of the above-described Hall Effect elements tend to have an axis of maximum sensitivity perpendicular to a substrate that supports the magnetic field sensing element. In particular, planar Hall elements tend to have axes of sensitivity perpendicular to a substrate, while vertical Hall Effect elements and CVH sensing elements tend to have axes of sensitivity parallel to a substrate.
Sensitivity is one parameter that can be used to characterize each one of the above types of Hall Effect elements. Sensitivity can be expressed, for example, in units of micro volts per Gauss per volt, i.e., μV/G/V, for which the micro volts per Gauss refers to an output voltage of the Hall Effect element per Gauss experienced by the Hall Effect element, and for which the volts refers to a DC voltage applied to drive the Hall Effect element.
In general, a high sensitivity is desirable, since the high sensitivity provides a good signal-to-noise ratio for an output signal generated by the Hall Effect element.